With thoughts of new titles crowding his mind, Lan tried to figure out a way to kill the stronger Salamander.
'I won't be able to use a log to kill that massive thing; its skin is too tough. I'll need something sturdier and sharper… definitely sharper,'
He looked around at the surrounding forest but found nothing useful. There were plenty of branches and rocks, but they didn't fit his criteria. Just remembering how tough the Salamander he had just killed had been… Lan turned his gaze towards the Salamander, 'What if… I use it as a weapon,' he wondered, slowly stepping towards the corpse.
When he arrived beside the body, he reached out with one hand and felt the rocky scales that covered the Salamander's skin, 'It's almost like I'm touching a real boulder,' he marvelled. 'My stick will be useless if I want to break this,' so he set to work. He broke the creature's skin with more than a little effort, using a sharp rock like a chisel and a heavy log as a hammer.
His hands and shoulders ached, but as he looked over his rewards, he felt everything was worth it. 'All I need to do is sharpen this,' Lan held up a long-curved rib that was tougher than steel, 'And that Level 6 chump is as good as dead,'
"There's got to be a title for beating something 5 levels above your own," He muttered. And so, he set to grinding the side of the rib bone against a boulder, trying to sharpen the end into a point capable of piercing the Salamander's rocky defences.
After finally sharpening the rib bone down to a point, Lan was forced to stop. A chill had begun to creep into the forest, and the light levels were decreasing drastically.
He raised his head and watched curiously as the sky that glowed with artificial light dulled and was bleached of all colour. Overwhelming darkness settled on the tutorial, smothering all light within its oppressive grasp.
In the depths of the forest, Lan held his breath, startled by the sudden change. Just a moment ago, it had been daylight, and now it was complete darkness. 'I suppose that since there is no sun, the change between night and day won't be gradual but instantaneous,'
During the day, the forest was quiet, as if holding its breath… Waiting for the night to usher in...
The first thing Lan heard was a strangled chirping. It seemed to come from all around him, sounding extremely close one second and then distant the next. The sudden burst of noise in the forest was startling and made his skin crawl.
Clenching the sharpened bone in his hand, he scrambled backwards, stopping when his back hit the rough bark of a tree. 'Nothing should be able to attack me from behind here,' he figured. Since he couldn't see his surroundings, this was his only way of defending his back.
All around him, the chirping grew louder and more agitated. It reminded him of crickets, but no cricket could possibly make a sound at that volume. It was too loud, far too loud.
'What's that?' Lan touched his cheek with his hand, feeling a warm liquid drip onto his fingertips. Since there was no light, he couldn't figure out what it was other than... Taste.
He placed his finger in his mouth, and his blood ran cold. It tasted like iron. He was bleeding, 'Shit, when did something cut me? I-'
A sharp pain ran up the side of his arm. It hurt like a papercut if the paper was made out of vinegar and lemon juice. Swallowing a shout, Lan grimaced and covered the cut with his hand, squeezing hard enough that he managed to stifle the flow of blood.
"Ah, shit!" He cursed; another stab of pain had just lanced up his shin, and the fresh flow of blood made his robe stick to his leg.
'Something's attacking me, but I can't see it. If I could just figure out where it was… Then maybe I'd have a chance of skewering it with my spear. Sight is useless right now, so I need to… I need to try and hear it coming,'
With sheer willpower, he forced down the urge to run and ignored the pain, closing his eyes and listening as closely to the chirping as he could.
Like a cascading wave, they grew closer, rushing towards him and then, another sharp pain shot out from his forehead where a fresh gash had just been cut.
'I just need to get the timing down. Was it five or six chirps before I got cut?'
Focusing intently on the sound, he refused to give in to fear, to succumb to the pain. As it grew closer, he focused everything that he was on the chirping.
The first chirp split the night air. It was distant, like muffled music heard from another room.
The second and third chirps were far closer, as if an instrument was being played near you.
The fourth chirp was like someone ringing a gong beside your head.
Just Before the fifth chirp, Lan exploded into motion. Waving his spear in a wide ark that swept from below his leg to above his head.
The fifth chirp never came; instead, the sickening crunch of bone breaking bone rang out, and something heavy smashed into his flailing attack. Stumbling forward, Lan tried to kill the thing as quickly as possible, but it was too late.
As his bone spear pierced the creature's chitinous skin, it released a deafening screech that sounded like nails dragging along a chalkboard. The sound echoed around the forest for a long moment before another joined it in response.
Alert: Killed lvl:1 Night Drone – Experience gained
A second and then a third chirp flowed out of the darkness and were quickly joined by more and more, rising into a crescendo as the sound of death rushed towards Lan.
"Shit!" Lan grunted, yanking his weapon from the Night Drone's body and feeling a warm liquid douse his new robe. Immediately, the smell hit him like a fist. Must and rot overpowered his senses, and his mind blanked for a moment. 'What the hell is that smell? Is it the creature's blood? But how can it possibly stink this bad?'
Holding his breath, Lan burst into a sprint, running towards the river where the Salamander had just come from. He couldn't see where he was going in the darkness, but the splash of water guided him, 'These things should be insects of some sort, so hopefully, water can slow them down,'
As he ran, his feet snagged on unseen branches and thickets while brambles grabbed his robe, trying to drag him back towards the ever-growing cacophony.
He stumbled as his foot hit a rock, but somehow, he managed to stay on his feet and gritting his teeth, he arrived at the river, the cold water seeping into his shoes and sending shivers up his spine.
The sound of water splashing was like angels singing to his ears, and he was just about to lie down in the shallow river when a deafening squeal split through the chirping like breaking glass.
Suddenly, he couldn't feel his toes, and then his hands and legs grew numb, "It-sss..."
Lan spluttered as his head landed in the river with a splash of both blood and water. His body landed with a louder splash shortly later, falling in the opposite direction.
Alert: Death has occurred, respawning in 3... 2... 1...
***
Lan gasped, and his eyes snapped open, taking in the all too familiar entrance hall. Immediately, he was hit by a wall of sound. Thousands of people were gathered here, all in the same beige robes as him, shouting and crying angrily. The one key theme of their collective complaints was chirping.
'There are far more people who died during the night than during the first wave,' Lan immediately noticed many unfamiliar faces.
"Hey," A soft voice came from behind Lan, along with a tap on the shoulder.
He whirled round and found Morgan, still in their school uniform, smiling weakly, "Morgan, what are you doing here? It doesn't look like you died," Lan asked. He had figured out that if someone wore the beige robe, they had died at least once. Which meant that anyone still in the fancy school uniform was either lucky or strong.
"Uhm, yeah, I didn't, but my hunting team stayed out too late and well… they ended up here,"
Lan nodded, "Ah, right, but why are you still here?"
Morgan shuffled awkwardly, looking at their feet, "Well, to be honest, I don't want to go out at night. Just look at how many people have died already, and it's only early into the night. There'll definitely be twice this number by the end of the night,"
Lan raised his hand to scratch his chin and almost impaled his head with his bone spike, "Jesus!" He swore.
"Careful, things in your hand come with you when you die, but nothing else," Morgan explained.
"Right, my bad, I guess I thought since I lost my backpack earlier… That I would lose this too," Lan gestured glibly with his dangerously sharp piece of bone.
"You lost your backpack earlier…." Morgan muttered, grabbing the collar of Lan's robe and dragging him closer, "Did the vultures get you?"
"Vultures, if that's what you call the people who killed me… Then yeah. Right after the battle ended, I was gutted like a fish," Lan finished with his jaw clenched tightly.
Morgan clenched their fist tightly, "I'm sorry that happened, those bastards are a plague to the tutorial, but they always exist. Instead of hunting monsters, they hunt people,"
"Hunt people! Can you even get points like that?" Lan asked, wide-eyed.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Yeah, for some stupid reason, you can. Not just a few points, either. If you kill someone outside of a safe zone, you get half of all their current points. That excludes the potential points they might get when the final beast wave ends on the 30th day. Those points are released all at once to stop that happening,"
"How do people just let this happen?" Lan growled.
Morgan raised their shoulders in a helpless shrug, "There's nothing we can do. If we don't focus our attention on the beast waves, then we might all fail the tutorial in its entirety,"
"Don't those ass-holes care about that?!"
"Nope," A woman replied, walking up beside Morgan, "They know that we can't afford to be cautious of them if we don't want to risk losing the tutorial. They're banking on us doing all the hard work for them,"
Lan assessed the new arrival. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes, with a very pale complexion, "And this is…?"
"Oh right, Lan, meet Freya. She's part of my hunting group," Morgan nervously gestured towards their companion. Lan had noticed how every motion Morgan made was skittish and uncertain and was beginning to worry that they just weren't cut out to be a pathfinder.
"Hi!" Freya said with a bright smile, sticking out a calloused hand towards Lan. He could tell from her tight grip and rough skin that she wielded a blade of some kind.
"Nice to meet you," Lan shook the hand, and for a moment, when their eyes met, competitive spirit flashed in the girl's blue eyes.
"Likewise, I hear you're friends with our little Morgan here," She grabbed Morgan around the shoulder and dragged them into an uncomfortable embrace. "Aren't they just the best scout you've ever met?"
'Scout… I thought Morgan used hidden weapons. Maybe their talent forced them to change professions,'
"Yeah, I'm sure they are,"
"It's incredible! Morgan can slip by any enemy undetected. I mean, look at me. I ended up dying with everyone on our team, but not Morgan!" The woman patted Morgan's shoulder affectionately.
"Huh?" Morgan started to blush, scratching their pale head awkwardly and not meeting Lan's eyes.
"Yeah, it's your talent, right?" The girl pressed.
Morgan nodded, "Basically, my talent stops things from seeing me as a threat,"
Lan's eyebrows shot up, "That's a handy power you've got, much more useful than mine anyways, seeing as only one of us ended up dying to those bugs,"
"Right, isn't Morgan just the best-" Freya paused, interrupted by a loudspeaker's crackle.
"Testing, Testing, 1,2,3… Hello~ and welcome to the bridge newbies!" A voice boomed out over what sounded like old, run-down stereo equipment.
Lan scanned the crowd, roughly half the people looked just as confused as he was, while the other half was grinning excitedly, practically fidgeting in anticipation.
"Right~ on to the explanation. I am the tutorial administrator, and thanks to a deal signed with the great factions of the bridge, you will all be presented with an opportunity."
'An opportunity?' Lan wondered, 'Judging by how excited some of the people here look, it must be good,' He could practically smell the anticipation in the air.
"You may have wondered why the entrance hall was so uselessly big when you first arrived, but fear not, everything in the tutorial serves a purpose, and so does this empty space. Observe as your futures change before your eyes,"
The hall began to rumble, and some invisible force pushed thousands of the gathered pathfinders towards its centre. Clearing a massive swath of room on either side of the hall.
"Just what is hap-?"
"Shh, just watch,"
Impossibly, the seamless marble floor split and pillars began to rise from the ground. Each was of varying thickness and height, but every pillar had one thing in common. A brand or a symbol emblazoned on its surface.
On top of the pillars, blurry figures of people materialised. Almost every person who appeared atop the pillars wore clothing with a similar brand as the pillar itself.
"On either side of the hall, you will find recruiters for the two great factions. The Conquerors and Grey Thought. Each pillar represents a clan or sect that aligns with that faction, and they are taking recruits. Best of luck~"
Lan turned and looked over the pillars, seeing nothing more than a bunch of meaningless symbols. But clearly, he was alone in this. Because the second the administrator finished talking, the thousands of people gathered began stampeding towards either side of the hall.
Everyone was pushing and clawing at each other in a race to get to their chosen pillar. Or any pillar at all, it looked like. Nobody was being very picky, from what Lan could tell.
"Only the dregs!" A thunderous voice boomed, silencing the hall.
Everyone in the hall froze, like someone walking across a frozen lake who had just heard the ice crack.
"You peons died on the first night and expect to join a faction off that! Ha! Don't make me laugh! Come back whenever you've gotten to the third step at least,"
Lan was forced to cover his ears as the rumble of thunder filled his head. His ears rang even after the voice finished speaking.
He glanced up and found a massive man with a stormy, grey and black beard glaring down from what was by far the most prominent pillar on the Conqueror's side of the room. The brand on his pillar read FORWARD.
Unsure of what to do, the gathered pathfinders were caught in indecision. "I agree. Although we are currently accepting applicants until you have reached at least the fourth step, the terms will be less than favourable," A dull, monotone voice cut the confused silence.
Lan whirled around to face the other side of the hall, where a slight man in a grey suit stood atop a pillar branded PROGRESS.
"So, you're here too, Leon!" The man with the beard boomed.
The slight man nodded slowly. Every movement seemed perfectly measured and calculated, "I am here… unfortunately,"
"You're a boring bastard if I've ever seen one! Anyways, run off and get stronger so we can actually judge you lot!" Boomed the bearded man.
Everyone in the hall stared blankly at him, not understanding what he wanted them to do.
"Agh! I said, FUCK! OFF!" His roar was like a hurricane running rampant through the hall. Raging winds picked up every single pathfinder and flung them out onto the cobble path, dumping them on the ground.
Lan glared at the bearded man as he flew helplessly out onto the cold hard stone of the path. "One day… one day no one will be able to…." He muttered grimly.
Pathfinders complaining about their hurt bodies and pride filled the night, echoing along the path and out into the forest.
Lan was happy to find at least some light here, coming from the cobbled path, which glowed a faint blue, barely illuminating its close surroundings and nothing more. Eventually, he followed the crowd as the procession of pathfinders followed the faint blue glow up the mountain, returning to the village they would need to protect in the morning.
Feeling despondent as he walked, Lan wished that he could talk to someone. The last day and a half had been overwhelming and he really wished he had someone to confide in, someone he could talk to. Scenes of his own death swirled around inside his head, building up like steam that would explode if the pressure wasn't released.
He would have liked to talk to Morgan about his worries, but they had run off to town before he got a chance. Freya had demanded they get back and find a good house, but Lan couldn't bring himself to tag along. He felt cripplingly uncomfortable in their group of already-established friends. He already felt like an outsider, owing to the fact he was the only person here who didn't go to an academy. Never mind trying to barge his way into inside jokes.
Perhaps it was fate then, that led him to spot the girl, keeping a large gap between her and the pathfinders returning to town. Her head was downcast and she walked as though she bore the weight of the world on her shoulders. And somehow, Lan sensed a kinship in her lonely figure.
A gloomy malaise settled over the girl like a shroud. From the outside, it almost looked like a forcefield, warding off any human who dared approach her.
So, when he approached her, no one was more shocked than Lan himself.
***
Rachel followed far behind the crowd as they walked towards the town. She staggered alone on the path, keeping the distance between her and the rest of them as big as possible.
She didn't want to be near them. Didn't want to hear the mocking laughter, the taunts that never ended, the snide remarks that cut deeper than any knife could.
A lump formed in her throat, and she almost sobbed, but she forced it down. She had been told enough times by bullies that she was an ugly crier. 'Well, maybe I'm just ugly anyway, whether or not I'm crying,' She thought glumly, rubbing her chubby arm so hard it felt like she was trying to tear it off.
Footsteps came from behind her, and she flinched at the sound, stepping out of whoever was coming's way.
A boy close to her height sauntered past, his dark hair hanging down his face in lanky strands. Not many boys were close to Rachel's height. As she was often reminded, she was freakishly tall for a girl.
"Are you… alright?" The boy asked suddenly, turning to look intently at her.
"H-Huh, I'm, I'm fine," She stuttered, hating her voice and speech impediment with a burning passion as she did. 'Did he hear me crying?'
She tried not to make eye contact, but he just kept staring at her, his blue eyes blazing with fiery intensity. Rage and unwillingness bubbled up in there, crashing into her like a wave. 'Stupid talent,' she groaned internally, hating her talent that was forcing her to see just how much people hated her.
Talent: The Eyes Are The Window To The Soul
Ability: When making direct eye contact with someone or something, the user can read their emotions and surface-level thoughts. Using mana, the user can convey thoughts and feelings of their own into a target's mind.
Penalty: The user's emotions grow more potent and overwhelming.
Since she received this talent, her self-loathing had only grown deeper and more entrenched. Now, all it took was one look into someone's eyes to see the true hate and disgust people had for her.
"You don't sound alright. Did what happened in the hall there shake you up?" The boy asked.
"I-I'm… Yeah, I-t was pret-ty sscary," She stuttered.
The boy frowned and she braced herself, the disgust was coming, she was inferior, a defective person who couldn't even talk properly.
"Are you sure? I know I'm a stranger, but you can tell me if anything is bothering you. From my experience, it's easier to talk with people you don't know than friends…." He was staring into her eyes, and she sensed genuine concern. That was rare. Only a select few of the academy's teachers ever offered her anything remotely like pity.
"I- am n-ot v-very g-good at ta-lking," She replied, wishing he would just go away and leave her alone.
The boy nodded, "Fair enough,"
They walked beside each other in awkward silence, Rachel praying for the boy to leave her alone and the boy… he was looking down at the piece of bone in his hands thoughtfully.
"Can you listen?" He asked quietly.
"P-pardon?" She stuttered.
"Do you mind listening while I talk then? I just want to get some stuff off my chest,"
"S-sure," she nodded reluctantly, not wanting to aggravate the boy in case he hit her or mocked her, just like the others did.
He took a deep breath, readying himself and began to talk, "Since I've come here to the tutorial, I mean. I've felt so incredibly out of my depth. Everyone knows way more than me; all I can do is keep fighting, but it feels like I'm swimming upstream. And every time I die, it's… it's terrifying. I know I have to do it. I have to grow stronger and… never mind.
It's just that whenever I'm fighting something, in that moment, it's fun, and I lose myself in that rush of adrenaline," He was gripping the bone so tight his knuckles turned white. "I don't like that feeling, though. It's not right. I shouldn't enjoy fighting and killing… If I do, I'll end up becoming like all the other pathfinders who live only to fight and kill,"
Rachel found herself getting caught up in the story and couldn't help but ask, "W-hy d-on't you w-want to be-e l-like every-o-one else?" She would kill to be like everyone else. All her problems would disappear if she could just have that.
The boy loosened his grip on the spike and relaxed a little, his intense blue eyes growing distant, "It's hard to explain, but I hate what the pathfinders represent. They abuse their strength and treat ordinary people like dirt to be tread on.
When I was young, I remember my father saying, 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,' I wanted to think that I would be the exception, but I don't know anymore,"
Rachel nodded along with what he was saying. "M-most of t-the pathf-finders who t-teach us at the ac-cademy treat the sservants terribly, ev-en the less t-talented sstudents get walked over like they aren't t-there,"
He shook his head sadly, "I had thought it would be different in the academies, but even there, strength is the only thing that matters," He finished with a sigh, and Rachel could tell he truly meant what he said. His eyes were sombre and melancholy.
Taking another deep breath, the boy looked out over the dark forest, "I'm sorry for oversharing, I just don't have anyone to talk to about this kind of stuff, and you seem like a nice person," He muttered.
"D-don't y-you ha-ve an-y c-classmates?"
The boy looked over at her and winked, "I guess not, don't you?"
Rachel shook her head, not meeting his eyes, "I-I'm a sspecial sstudent. M-my classes were d-different f-from e-everyone e-else,"
"Huh… so you're in a similar situation as me then. If you ever need someone to team up with or talk to, I'm your guy. My only condition is, if we are going to fight together, you need to put in as much effort as I do,"
Rachel wasn't sure why, but the urge to just show this guy her secret bubbled up inside her, and on impulse, she opened her mind and sent her thoughts to him.
My name is Rachel, and I'm a telepath.
The boy jumped back with a start, "Shit, that was insanely loud!"
Sorry, I still need to improve at controlling the volume since I have no one to practice on.
"No, don't worry about it. I'm Lan and if you ever need someone to practice on, give me a call,"
Rachel smiled for the first time since coming here, and she meant it. She really meant it.